Contrabass Conversations double bass life

Today’s episode features Thomas Martin.  Tom has worn many hats throughout his career, working as an orchestra principal bass, soloist, champion of Bottesini’s music, luthier, teacher, and conductor.  We cover a wide variety of topics, including Tom's early years, playing in the Army Orchestra, studying with Roger Scott, the process of uncovering the music of Bottesini and reconstructing how Bottesini approached the instrument, making basses, and the bass revolution that’s currently taking place.

Welcome to the fourth and final installment of Winning the Audition, a special series from Contrabass Conversations featuring advice from leaders in the field about preparing and executing auditions successfully.  This series is drawn from interviews conducted with dozens of bassists from orchestras like the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and Houston Symphony, plus some of the most influential pedagogues in the field.

Today’s episode features Berlin Philharmonic principal bassist Matthew McDonald. Originally from Australia, Matthew joined the Philharmonic in 2008 after spending time in orchestras in Denmark and Germany. We cover bow distribution, resonance, the performers mindset, practicing, advice for students, and several other topics.

Welcome to the third installment of Winning the Audition, a special series from Contrabass Conversations featuring advice from leaders in the field about preparing and executing auditions successfully.  This series is drawn from interviews conducted with dozens of bassists from orchestras like the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and Houston Symphony, plus some of the most influential pedagogues in the field.

234: Justin Locke returns!

Welcome to Winning the Audition - a special series from Contrabass Conversations featuring advice from leaders in the field about preparing and executing auditions successfully.  This series is drawn from interviews conducted with dozens of bassists from orchestras like the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and Houston Symphony, plus some of the most influential pedagogues in the field.

Today’s episode features Jory Herman, who is a member of the San Diego Symphony bass section and has just released his second solo album titled Life.  In addition to playing in the San Diego Symphony, Jory is actively involved in community engagement in the San Diego area.  He has recently become Director of Community Engagement with Art of Elan and is an active teacher and clinician.

Welcome to Winning the Audition - a special series from Contrabass Conversations featuring advice from leaders in the field about preparing and executing auditions successfully.  This series is drawn from interviews conducted with dozens of bassists from orchestras like the Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and Houston Symphony, plus some of the most influential pedagogues in the field.

Jason reveals his "top secret" plans for the podcast!

Today’s episode features a conversation with Ursula Dieterich-Pedersen, who is organizing the 5th European Biennial Double Bass Congress, which will be taking place in Prague this September 20-25. Ursula and I got a chance to talk recently about some of the details for the event. You can find all the details for this event at bass2016.eu.

Today’s episode features David White, who works as an upright and electric bassist in the world of musical theatre.  David is based in New York City and is currently on tour with the Bridges of Madison County.  We talk about his time at the Berklee College of Music and working as a bassist for Royal Caribbean, moving to New York City and getting involved with the theatre scene, a week in the life of a theatre musician, developing networking skills, and much more.

Today’s episode features Lloyd Goldstein, who has transitioned from playing in the Florida Orchestra to his current role working as a certified music practitioner at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.  It’s so exciting to speak with someone who has continued to evolve so dramatically in his craft and career throughout his life.  Lloyd’s path is unconventional and inspirational.

This is a special episode featuring International Society of Bassists 2017 Convention Chair and Artistic Director Nicholas Walker discussing plans for the upcoming convention.  This 50th anniversary convention looks like it will be outstanding, with several new developments unique to this event.

Today's episode features Ithaca College professor and International Society of Bassists president Nicholas Walker.  In addition to teaching at Ithaca College, Nicholas performs between 170 and 180 concerts a years in a wide variety of musical genres, he is a prolific composer, and he has taught for many years along with Paul Ellison and François Rabbath at Domaine Forget in Quebec.

Today's podcast features an in-depth conversation with Peter Tambroni.  This is a "round two" conversation that builds upon the topics that we covered in our previous talk on episode 204.  Today we dig into fallacies surrounding public school teaching, instrument setup, life planning, instrument insurance, practicing ideas, teaching philosophies, and much more.  This episode is a gold mine for anyone interested in taking their teaching game to the next level!